Sweet Nothings
by MadRiver
Summary: After years of having it 'easy', Vegeta gets a reality check when Bulma decides it's either going to be her way or the highway
1. Sweet Nothings 1

PLEASE READ AUTHOR'S NOTES BEFORE READING.  
This fic is rated R because of strong language, and because I don't really know how the story will progress. There will obviously be no lemon but if I feel that the story needs a dose of 'something', adult situations will be in order. You are forewarned, so I want no complaints because you decided to skip the author's notes. Be responsible for your own actions. There will be no fighting, or any mention of it; this is all Vegeta and Bulma at their best.

Disclaimer: DBZ: don't own it.

Sweet Nothings  
Rated R  
By: MadRiver

Chapter 1

He decided to humor his silly human, and play along with her nonsense.

She wanted a 'wedding', she said. She was tired of living in sin, she yelled. She ranted and raved for a good hour; screaming about how Kakarrot and his harpy were 'married' and how she wanted the same thing.

Damned if he knew what had worked her up into such lather, but he knew better than to interfere when she started ranting about only God knows what.

So there he stood, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and followed her with his eyes as she paced back and forth in front of him, stopping once in a while to glare at him through lowered eyelids.

When she finally stopped long enough to catch her breath, he righted himself and uncrossed his arms; he walked to a stop in front of her and simply said, "What will it take to stop your screeching? You are making my head hurt."

That had been it.

He literally saw how her countenance changed. Where before she had been righteous and indignant, then she was positively livid. Her eyes narrowed into dangerous slits and darkened into glittering sapphires. Her cheeks flushed a most becoming pink and her breath came out in short, ragged gasps. She gritted her teeth in barely suppressed anger. And she'd never looked more beautiful to his eyes than how she did then.

Before she could get another word in edgewise, he pulled her to him and wound his arms around her, crushing her body to his. His left hand went to the back of her head and his right pushed against the small of her back. He pressed his lips to hers in a chaste kiss and spoke huskily into her ear, his warm breath eliciting the response he desired. "Sheathe your claws, hellcat, I was only stating a fact."

He felt her shiver and pulled her closer still, raising her up on her tiptoes and pulling back his head to look into her eyes. Yes, this was the only way to get her to speak in a language he understood. He crushed his lips to hers, this time urging her to open her mouth for him with his tongue. She did so eagerly, her own rushing out to meet his.

A few hours later he asked his question again from the comfort of his bed with his mate wrapped around him. "What was it now, woman? What did that viper Kakarrot calls mate say to you now?"

"She didn't say anything to me. It's just that... well... Vegeta, we've been together for about five years now, we have a beautiful six year old son and you have never made any attempts to commit yourself to me." Her voice wavered at the end of her speech, and he felt a warm tear roll down his chest from where it had landed.

He let out a heavy sigh; he was more than uncomfortable with the subject at hand.

"You had never complaint before, what's so special about now?" He was being more careful with his words than usual. He knew that any wrong move would guarantee him a one way ticket to the guestroom for a good while, and if there was anything he hated was not feeling his mate's warm body pressing against his at night.

However, he must not have been as careful as he thought because she tensed in his arms and sat up, pulling the blanket up to cover her nudity.

She sat with her back facing him and whispered with a bitterness he had never heard from her before: "It has always bothered me, I was just always afraid that you would turn away from me... if I told you how I felt."

She covered her face with her hands and leant forward, her elbows resting on her knees as she cried softly into her palms. "ChiChi made me realize that you shouldn't always be the one to get your way, I shouldn't have to walk on eggshells around you anymore. I am a grown woman now, not some heartsick teenager too afraid to make demands because her boyfriend might break up with her.'

"I have a child to look after; our marital situation, or lack thereof, might not be a big deal in his life now but there will come a time when he will ask questions." Her voice kept rising with each word she uttered, her anger was nearly palpable now and her breathing had grown ragged.

She lowered her hands and turned her head to look him straight in the eye as she continued her tirade, "what will I tell him then, Vegeta? That his mother was good enough for his father to fuck but not to marry? That to you I was nothing more than an easy lay, but never worth the effort!"

Now she was screaming at the top of her lungs, she had long since left the bed and stood with the blanket wrapped around her body glaring hatefully at the very stunned Saiyan lying naked on her bed.

"I will not continue to live this way, I refuse to! I can't continue with you treating everything I say to you as some 'silly human idea' that I need time to get over!" She stood up straight, and looked down her nose at him as she got her breathing under control and reigned in her temper, then very clearly proceeded to deliver him an ultimatum.

"If you are willing to take the next step in our relationship, you always know where to find me; until then, I am moving my things into the guestroom. Goodnight, Vegeta. I hope you have pleasant dreams." With that parting quip, she proceeded to her drawers and pulled out her necessities for the night; then she turned and walked out the door, not looking back once.

End Chapter 1

MadRiver


	2. Sweet Nothings 2

Disclaimer: Don't own it.

Sweet Nothings  
Rated R  
By: MadRiver

Chapter 2

"Oh, hell!" He said to himself as he scowled at the ceiling. What the hell was he supposed to do now? Crawl after her and beg her to come back? If that's what she wanted, she had another thing coming.

He was seriously considering flying to that hut Kakkarot's harpy called home and ridding the universe of her existence. What was even worse, he still didn't know what had happened and now, to add insult to injury, the woman was abandoning him! HIM! She didn't even bother giving him any other reason other than she was tired of simply being his mate!

"Commitment, bah!" He scoffed as he got up and searched for his sweat pants. He had been committed to the blasted woman since that first night they had been together. He didn't seek any other mates, he hadn't impregnated anyone else with his brats; he was loyal and nice to her! NICE! Just thinking the word made him shudder.

He found his pants lying in a heap on the floor in front of the woman's closet, where she had flung them in her hurry to get to him, and pulled them on. He stared at the closed closet door and took a deep breath.

What was she trying to pull? No, better yet, what the hell was she up to? Usually, he would have been the one thrown out of their room and made to sleep in the guestroom. After all, this was originally her room so all of her things where in here, tucked into any niche she could find. His things were easier to move, he had them all folded and put away in drawers.

"She is doing something..." His voice trailed off as he turned around to look at the room. Everywhere he looked was something of hers. Her vanity, littered with all kinds of concoctions she liked to smear her face with; the nightstands, filled with pictures of her friends and... Them.

He walked to her side of the bed and picked up one of the pictures. She didn't know, but this particular one was his favorite. In it, she was cradling Trunks in her arms and was smiling to the camera, her eyes sparkling with joy.

He was standing right behind her, his right arm was hanging at his side but, his left hand was around her waist pressing her back to him a fact that the bundle that was Trunks hid from the camera's view.

This picture was taken a few months after Cell and it had been around the same time when he had finally stopped fighting it and accepted the inevitable: that he was undoubtedly a mated Saiyan and whose mate had bore him a son. His possessiveness had known no bounds then, and still didn't know any now. He was already in too deep by the time the picture was taken.

He sighed and put the picture back down. He turned and walked to the balcony doors, opening them to step outside. He leant against the railing, crossed his arms and took in the night air. He wasn't stupid; he knew exactly what the woman was asking him to do.

She wanted him to stand in front of her friends and family and profess his undying devotion to her. It was easy enough to accomplish; that is if you were some silly human male. He had enough trouble trying to smile in front of people, now she wanted him to open up in front of a crowd of strangers and show his feelings. He grimaced.

There was no way she was going to talk him into this. Pulling out his own teeth with his bare hands sounded better than that.

He could just see it now. Him, dressed in some penguin-like get up, waiting for her to walk down an aisle while the idiots she called friends pasted goofy smiles on their faces and her ditzy mother slobbered all over her dimwitted, and equally affected, father.

The place would swarm with business associates and the nosy media, who would fight to get the most revealing picture or try to weasel an exclusive with someone close to 'the couple'. He wrinkled his nose in disgust.

She had once tricked him into going to one of those silly events and the experience had left him seriously doubting the sanity of the people in this planet. He was forced to sit through the whole arduous ordeal, while the thing the woman had tied around his neck threatened to cut his oxygen off.

The woman getting hitched, as Bulma had put it, was the daughter of one of her father's oldest business associates and the two had a relationship of some sort. When the woman in question had started walking down the aisle he had had to make an incredible effort to not burst out laughing.

The tiny thing had been draped in layers, upon layers, upon layers of clothing, with a hideous hat pinned to her hair while a sheer fabric trailed endlessly behind her along with more of the clothing.

His woman had gushed about how beautiful she looked and he had snorted at her. In truth, he still couldn't figure out how someone so small had managed to drag all that weight with her and still manage to dazzle everyone with her pearly white smile.

But that hadn't been the end of that.

During the ceremony some reporters had managed to sneak inside and started to randomly flash their cameras at anything and everything they could before they had been dragged away, kicking and screaming, by security.

At the front, the man and woman, now standing on some dais, swore to each other to love and honor each other for eternity while he could smell, all the way from where he was sitting, the scent of the woman standing beside the 'bride' all over the 'groom'.

At the end of their speech they had kissed and were presented to the audience as the new Mr. and Mrs. Something or other. Then the couple had run out and everyone had hurried to their cars.

In a whirlwind of confusion he found himself sitting at a table with the woman and her parents, waiting for the happy couple to reappear. From then on it's all a myriad of color, loud music, dancing, off key singing and arguments, meshed together in his head as he had overindulged himself and had gotten stinking drunk; anything to numb the pain had been his motto.

All in all, it had been fairly entertaining in a circus-like sort of way. He chuckled. There was no way he was putting himself through that kind of humiliation.

The woman would just have to suck it up and deal with it. With that final thought he went back inside and took a look around the room again.

The sheets were rumpled, prove of the activity that had taken place not too long ago and her clothing still littered the floor, where she had left them in her hurry to leave his presence. He closed his eyes and breathed in her heady scent that intermingled with his stronger one in the air about him.

Suddenly, his eyes snapped open as he finally realized what she was trying to do.

This room was filled with them. Every nook and cranny was testament to their loving, every corner a vivid reminder of what they shared everyday. The woman knew his senses were keener than a human's was!

My God, she was trying to make him miss her! To make him want her! She was manipulating the situation in order to bend him to her will!

The woman had more balls than he ever gave her credit for. What was even worst, she was already succeeding! He was walking aimlessly all over the room, touching everything like a... lovesick fool!

His eyebrows lowered to a frown and his mouth curled into an indignant scowl, his eyes shone with an emotion he had not felt in a very long time and especially not towards his mate: rage.

He had never fancied himself as a very stable man, the smallest things could send him over the edge, and this one definitely took the cake!

The little bitch was trying to control him! To manipulate him! She was using mind games with him! He curled his fingers into fists and growled picturing her pretty little neck snapping between them. He shook his head in disbelief then threw it back and roared furiously.

He walked angrily towards the end of the bed, and glared at it. How many times had he taken her in that bed? How many times had he made her scream his name in rapture while he took her over and over again?

He had made her his mate! His Queen! He had gone against everything he knew; he had compromised his principles and his pride and actually taken her and accepted her as HIS MATE! A human mate! Now the conniving little bitch did this!

Vegeta was angry enough to kill at the moment. He could not believe the gall of the woman. He had trusted her! Not since Freeza had he felt this used. He had sworn to never be subjected to anyone's whim again, to never get himself in a situation where he was at somebody else's mercy.

And now, his own woman was using trickery, and her knowledge of him, to use it against him! He seethed as he took a fistful of the blankets and shredded them with his hands until only rags lay scattered around him on the floor.

What the fuck was she thinking? No, better yet, what was he thinking? He had been mopping about for over a good hour now, and the stupid woman had only just left him! Had he truly become this weak?

He was seething. He could not remember the last time he had been this angry so he took a calming breath and struggled to reign in his anger.

He couldn't afford to lose his temper now. The woman might lack common sense, but she had brains; he needed a cool head if he was going to deal with her scheming ways and beat her at her own game. His mouth curled into a cruel smile.

"Yes... I must remain calm," he mused as he reached down to pick up what remained of the blankets and ignited them in his hands, getting rid of the evidence so to speak. He chuckled evilly.

_No one ridicules the prince of all Saiyans, and actually expects to get away with it. _He thought disdainfully. The woman needed to be taught a lesson, and he was just the person to do it.

Vegeta walked into the bathroom and searched in the linen closet for some clean sheets and then went on to make his bed. He would not leave the room. On the contrary, staying here would only strengthen his resolve, feeding his anger and stoking his fury.

"I will show that silly human just how this game is played," he whispered as he laid face up on the bed and smirked at the ceiling, folding his arms under his head. "The woman is nothing but a novice when compared to me." He chuckled once again.

Perhaps he had been overly nice to her and that's why she thought she could pull these little stunts. She should have known better; he had been playing games like these for as long as he could remember.

Deceit was his specialty; after all, one did not kiss a twisted lizard's ass for the most part of his life and not learn a thing or two. Nothing the woman conjured could ever compare to the pink lizard's sick mind. He had seen and heard everything during his time as Freeza's 'pet monkey' and he would use all the knowledge he possessed for his advantage.

He laughed out loud with perverse glee. The woman was about to see a part of him, she'd only had glimpses of. He had always held back for her, but no more!

Even at the beginning her glittering blue eyes had held him captivated and he had made visible efforts to keep himself from truly going off on her. But it seemed that now she wanted to play rough.

She would get to meet the real Prince Vegeta, the destroyer of planets and killer of millions; Freeza's favorite mercenary. She should be glad, only his most worthy opponents ever got to see him full force. He would show her no mercy!

She had grudgingly won his trust through the years and now, over some stupid delusion, she had thrown it all away! He felt betrayed and that made him burn with ire. She had seen and touched a part of him no one ever had, and for that she would pay as well.

"The little bitch thinks she can deliver ultimatums and withhold what is rightfully mine," he glared at the ceiling, his mood turning from smug satisfaction to rage once again. She was his, and he would make sure she never forgot that either.

He decided how things went, not her. He would take whatever he wanted, and consequences be damned! For better or worse, he was stuck with her. He had given any chance of gaining back his freedom the moment he had accepted her as his mate. He had promised to never leave her side again and, tarnished though it was, he still had his honor. A true warrior never broke his promise.

However, she had declared war on him, and he was going to fight back. The silly woman would never know what hit her. His mouth curled into a devious smile as he thought of ways to torment her. He would use diplomacy to bring this enemy down. She could never be a challenge to him physically but mentally she could give anyone a run for his or her money.

What she didn't know was that his mind knew no bounds either. In Freeza's court he had been an avid pupil. He narrowed his eyes into slits as he pictured her in his mind's eye lying naked beneath him, cheeks flushed and heaving breasts, begging him to fulfill her. He growled in satisfaction and smirked.

She would not know what to do with him, when it all came down to it. Since she wanted him so badly, she was going to get him.

"Victory, will be sweet indeed."

End Chapter 2

MadRiver


	3. Sweet Nothings 3

Disclaimer: I don't own it.

Mad River

Sweet Nothings

Rated R

Chapter 3

The figure on the bed groaned in annoyance as the first tendrils of light encompassed the billowing curtains and shone right into her closed eyelids. Turning her back on the nuisance, she snuggled more comfortably into the feather pillows and pulled the covers over her head. She would do anything to escape the harsh reality that awaited her this morning.

It soon became uncomfortable to breathe under the covers so accepting her fate she pulled the covers back down and opened her eyes. She eyed the room warily and took a deep breath as she recalled the previous day's events and what had landed her in her current situation…

"The nerve of that woman!" Bulma seethed as she slammed shut the car door and hurried up the driveway, glancing back to make sure Trunks was following her.

"To say such things to me! Ha! How dare she! She's the one married and look how far it's gotten her!" She fumbled in her purse for her keys before realizing that they were in her hand all along, and then struggled to still her hands so she could fit the key into the key hole.

"Geez, mom! We're never going to get in if you keep doing that!" Trunks whined from behind her then let out an exasperated sigh and took the keys from his frustrated mother.

She could only stand back and watch as her son accomplished the menial task of opening the door for her.

She couldn't help how she was feeling at that moment. Looking like a fool in front of Trunks was just an added bonus. As soon as the door swung open she hurried inside, looking to find a hole she could crawl into until her embarrassment passed and she could get on with her life.

So she went to her private lab, where she locked herself in to pace around the room in aggravation.

She had never been so humiliated in her whole entire life! ChiChi had been so smug when delivering her little speech, so self-righteous… as if she truly had the right to say those awful things to her.

Bulma hadn't believed her ears when out of nowhere Goku's wife had started speaking about Bulma's relationship with the Saiyan prince and their lack of marital status. ChiChi had gone on and on about how they needed to give Trunks a good example and that by his parents living in sin he was being corrupted! Not only that but she had said that the others agreed with her! By others, of course, she meant the rest of the Z fighters!

_The others! Oh my God!_

She was mortified, angry, hurt and above all ashamed. Ashamed because even though she was angry at ChiChi, underneath it all she knew ChiChi was right. They were all right.

How could she have let it go on for so long? Had she no self respect? No dignity? She was a proud woman. She was smart, rich, beautiful, and still relatively young… why shouldn't she be proud? And yet…

And yet, she had let a man walk all over her for over five years.

Even worse, she had let that man into her house, her bed and ultimately her heart without ever asking for anything in return. Didn't she at least deserve something for all she had done?

She had been a good mate to him. She was always there when he needed her. Never denied him anything. She had opened her heart and soul to him. And what did she have to show for it?

She had years of confusion, hurt, and indecisiveness to show. She was no closer to figuring out Vegeta than she had been when she first invited him to stay at her house after the events on Namek-sei.

Well, she supposed that wasn't all true. The man was half way decent when he wanted to be and had showed her a side of him she doubted anyone had had the privilege to see. But that still didn't mean that she wouldn't want more from him. It was only natural. It was the way that things went. Relationships were supposed to go forwards not backwards.

But as it was, she and Vegeta were at a stalemate. They didn't move one way or the other, they just simply lived.

What made it even worse was that the little bastard actually seemed content with leaving things as they were.

"Well, **I'm** definitely not happy with this arrangement!" She huffed indignantly. "I **know** I deserve more and I will demand more, dammit! And I will get it if it kills him!" She finished her tirade with a sniff then stomped out of the lab in search for the insufferable prince.

Predictably, she found him in the kitchen.

His body was half way inside the refrigerator with his backside sticking up in the air, swaying as he grabbed everything he could carry then kicking the door closed and taking everything to the island in the middle of the kitchen.

Under other circumstances she would have been amused. But, as it was, the sight of him so nonchalantly preparing to eat a week's supply of groceries only incensed her ire even more.

"Taking a break?" She asked in a deceptively sweet tone since she knew that easing him into the conversation then catching him off guard was always the best way to go about getting straight answers from him.

He grunted in acknowledgement and to let her know that the question obviously didn't deserve an answer. It was incredibly silly but over the years, she had learned to distinguish what each sound the man made meant. He had a different sound for everything.

_Is this truly how low I've sunk to?_ The thought brought her back to the matter at hand. How desperate did a woman have to be to actually have a relationship with someone that grunted like a caveman when someone tried to talk to him?

_To hell with this!_ _He's not a child! He doesn't need any easing into!_ She thought angrily.

"Vegeta, we need to talk." She stated firmly then turned around and headed to the staircase. If she was going to talk to him about this, she didn't want an audience. She was all too aware of her son's inquisitiveness and her mother's prying nature. The last thing she needed was more people witnessing her breakdown.

She knew herself incredibly well, so it would come as no surprise that she would be doing a lot of yelling and cursing which was better left for the sanctity of their bedroom where at least she was sure to get some privacy.

She didn't have long to wait as the all-mighty Saiyan Prince stormed into the room, a thunderous expression on his face making it painfully clear to her that he was most definitely not amused.

"What is it now woman?" He growled under his breath, taking his customary place against the wall with crossed arms and glare to match.

It was so like Vegeta to think that everything that didn't have to do with his precious training was beneath him. The more she thought about it, the less she could believe she had put up with his bullshit for so fucking long.

The man was an overbearing, domineering asshole and she had been incredibly naïve to have ever thought that a little affection and hot sex on the side would have ever made a difference in changing his sourly disposition.

"I really don't have all day" the muttered comment snapped her back to the present causing her to straighten up to her full height and focus all of her attention on the nonchalant male in the room.

"I'm going to ask you something and I want you to answer me truthfully" she started, willing her blood to stop boiling for a second so she could actually get something out of this conversation.

He grunted for her to continue, unwittingly adding another drop to the proverbial glass.

"Where do you see us?" She asked, gritting her teeth as she did so. She was having a real hard time having to look at his ugly mug glaring at her as if she were an insect he couldn't wait to crush, and forming any coherent thoughts.

"You'll have to be more specific" he finally answered, smirking snidely at her.

"What I mean is, how do you see us in the future?" She looked at him expectantly, hoping against all hope that he would give her the answer she was looking for but knowing, deep down, that she would be sorely disappointed.

"I see…" he paused, seemingly contemplating his answer. "I suppose I see us the same as we are now… although there is always room for improvement, I am fairly pleased with the situation we find ourselves in. However, I **could** list for you the things I think you should work on to make our arrangement a lot more tolerable for the both of us."

She was literally seeing red by the end of his little speech. _The same as now…room for improvement…**arrangement…** _If she didn't know better, she was inclined to think that maybe he was doing this to purposely rile her up. Either way, this had definitely not been the time for it.

"I can't believe the things that just came out of your mouth… you… you arrogant, son of a bitch!" She screamed, clenching her fists at her sides and glaring daggers in his direction.

"Of all the hurtful things you've said to me since I've known you that had to be the most insensitive, uncaring, selfish…" She trailed off unable to finish that sentence. Nothing she could come up with was good enough to describe his words.

She started to pace in front of him, a nervous habit she had picked up from her father and which she did whenever she was suffering from an unhealthy amount of stress.

"Is that all we are to you? An arrangement? A convenience which you can pick up whenever the mood strikes you?" She was rambling now, she was aware of it but she really couldn't help it. She felt like she had finally lost whatever modicum of control over her raging emotions and only the furious pacing was keeping her from doing some serious damage to something.

"Now I see why she said the things she did… she was right… what was I thinking?... going so far as to defend you… I can't believe I actually snapped at her for only stating the truth… living in sin, indeed… a real wedding, yeah right…Why couldn't I have fallen for someone normal?... I always wanted a white wedding… I should have known better than to expect that from you…" her speech had become so distorted that even she was having a hard time understanding what she was saying.

Her mind felt like it had turned to mush and the whole room seemed to have fallen into a revolving whirlwind where nothing made sense anymore. Had she finally gone mad? Had he finally achieved the impossible and robbed her of whatever sense of self she had left?

"What will it take to stop your screeching? You are making my head hurt." The voice came directly from her left and it was only then that she realized that at some point during her manic rambling he had come to stand next to her and was intently taking her in.

She was out of breath and his smug expression was only making it worse. She felt her face grow hot as her eyes narrowed into furious slits, the fog lifting miraculously from her frazzled mind and focusing all of the pent of rage on the cause of it all.

She clenched her teeth determinedly, preparing for a full out attack on the jerk when all of her thoughts immediately came to a halt when he unexpectedly wound his arms around her waist and pulled her trembling frame into his. He quickly moved one of his hands to the back of her head while the other one pushed against the small of her back bringing her body into full contact with his. He gave her a chaste kiss on the lips then whispered huskily into her ear making her shiver for an entirely different reason.

"Sheathe your claws, hellcat, I was only stating a fact…"

What had followed that last statement had, in the end, only made things worse. It had only served to reinforce his earlier comment about their relationship being some kind of twisted arrangement, where he could take what he would from her and damn the consequences.

All in all, it had made her feel cheap and dirty. No one could make her feel as low as Vegeta could and, giving the circumstances, he really shouldn't have made any sexual advances on her.

Nevertheless, deep down, she had hoped that last night had been a very bad dream. That she would wake up this morning and find herself wrapped around her lover's arms and gaze up at his beautifully scowling face as he traced lazy circles on her bare back.

_Fat chance Bulma, you've really done it now!_ She thought sadly as she remembered her harsh words and her irrevocable ultimatum. What had gotten into her anyway? He was right when he said she had never mentioned their unmarried state, but in truth she had always been too afraid to say anything, in fear that he would get so mad he would leave her.

Subconsciously, she knew that the notion was more in her mind than anything else. She knew he loved her; he had been showing her just that for the past five years but it was like some part of her still refused to believe that the untamable Saiyan from so long ago had truly chosen to settle down. And with her no less.

She felt so silly now that she had time to think about it. She had been beyond unreasonable with him and it pained her to think what he thought of her now. She had lashed out on him out of pain and anger, something she was always careful not to do around him.

Sure she yelled at him, but that was for fun. She knew he got a morbid kick out of her screeching ways; she would even go so far as to say it turned him on. However, real issues she took time to sit with him and discuss. It was not wise to overwhelm him with her human emotions for she was very aware of how different they had been raised.

Anything regarding them as a couple, anything that would affect the future outcome of their relationship, she had to explain in detail and assure him that it was not impossible to achieve.

He was always so skeptical when it came to their relationship. The self-assured Saiyan she knew and loved would disappear completely and in his place would be a very insecure man who instead of speaking about his problems would shut down and glare at her in annoyance when inside he was fighting the urge to take flight and never look back.

She loved him so much, and she couldn't understand why he still refused to show he felt the same way when others were around. When they were alone he was a totally different man. He would pull her to him and crush her to his body, caressing her skin with his lips as he whispered sweet nothings in his dead language. They shared the sweetest moments when they were alone.

_This is so depressing_. She thought letting out a defeated sigh and crawling out of bed and making her way to the room's adjoining bathroom. Just because she was feeling like hell didn't mean that the rest of the world would stop revolving to accommodate her.

She had to get up and cook some breakfast for her baby boy and his grumbling father, not to mention fix herself up to go to work. She was a very busy woman, the president of her own company in fact; meetings with aging conservatives and phone calls with moody marketers could not be pushed back so she could sulk about her crumbling love life.

Taking a quick hot shower to settle her weary nerves did a lot to calm her down. Putting on her underwear and wrapping her body in a fluffy blue robe, she made her way downstairs to the kitchen.

In her defense, Bulma hadn't been in a very reasonable mood the day before. Lately, she had been thinking about their relationship and having ChiChi point out the same things she had been debating over had only made things more difficult. Bulma had never been good in dealing with embarrassment and now not only did she have an unpredictable Saiyan to contend with but probably and indignant friend as well.

Bulma knew ChiChi had meant well, even if her choice of words had been rather crude. She would most likely go by her house that very day and see if there was anything she could do to salvage the situation before it got any worse.

Bulma knew she had a temper and, yesterday, it hadn't fail to rear its ugly head and wreak havoc on her quaint little life. As a result, she had some major damage control to do.

She vaguely wondered where Vegeta was and whether or not she should bother to make enough breakfast to feed him as well. Regardless of her self pitying thoughts, she was still relatively angry at him. Perhaps making him suffer for a little bit wouldn't be too uncalled for.

Of course, knowing him, he would probably make some snide remark about thanking the gods for not having to eat with her and not having to look at her ugly face first thing in the morning. He was always full of any such comments.

Now that she thought about it, she really wasn't going to make enough for him. With that in mind, she opened the storage closet and programmed one of the kitchen bots to make breakfast for Trunks and her.

Why should she always be the one to apologize? She hadn't done anything wrong this time, he had. _Who knows? Maybe I'll actually accomplish something with that ultimatum I gave him. _

She felt a brief twinge of guilt at how manipulative her actions might look to him, but she had really been left with no choice. Everything had been said and done so she might as well try and move forward even if it was fighting against the prince's infamous stubbornness.

This one was going to be an all or nothing kind of battle, and she was determined to win it!

_To hell with that self-serving bastard_. She thought smugly and went to wake her son up for school, any thoughts of making up with the resident royalty slipping to the back of her mind.

The day had truly flown by, as Bulma found herself zipping through the dirt road that would take her to the Son's home on Mount Paozu. The wind whipped wonderfully against her face, giving her a sense of freedom she hadn't felt since her days of hunting for dragon balls. The sun was setting behind her giving the scenery an ethereal glow that made her rethink her choice of staying at Capsule Corporation instead of moving to a place such as this.

Seeing this wonderful view helped her understand Goku's decision to live out here. It really was the perfect place for someone such as him; a place just as wild and carefree as her dearest friend had been. That thought made her heart feel heavy, as if two led weights had been tied to it as it struggled to pump the life-giving blood into her system. It was still hard to believe that she wouldn't see him again.

It also made her feel terribly bad for ChiChi. She couldn't imagine what it must be like having to raise two children, let alone demi-Saiyans, all by her self and with as little money as ChiChi had to her name. Every day was a struggle for her friend and that only made Bulma feel worse for having snapped at her when she had obviously, in her own way, only been trying to help.

This thought made the weights lift from her heart as she ran through her mind how she would go about apologizing to ChiChi while also making it clear to her that her relationship with Vegeta was really nobody else's business. She might have been feeling bad about yelling at the woman, but she still didn't want her prying into her personal affairs especially when those affairs dealt with the volatile prince.

A sad smile made its way to her lips when the house came into view. There were so many memories surrounding that house and she vaguely wondered how ChiChi made it through the day without braking down into an emotional mess.

She came to stop on the dirt road, just short of reaching the outer edges of the property. ChiChi was an accomplished gardener, many of the fruits and vegetables ChiChi used in her cooking came from that very soil, so Bulma always made sure to park a ways away so that she wouldn't unwittingly run over anything crucial or difficult to grow.

She slowly made her way up the road, breathing in the magnificent fresh air you could only enjoy this far into the forest. She was really starting to consider thinking about moving out of Capsule Corp.

She climbed up the steps of the porch and came to a halt in front of the door. She had been so immersed in her own thoughts that she hadn't notice how eerily quiet everything was. Even though this place could be characterized as the middle of nowhere, the sound of living things was always a background noise one always had to grow accustomed to. Not only that, but you could always count on Goten or Gohan to be about training and whatnot.

_How very odd indeed_. She thought wearily. Not wanting to stay outside and find out what had scared the animals into silence she knocked on the door and waited for ChiChi to answer.

Bulma bit her lip nervously at the silence that greeted her ears. She knocked again more forcefully, hoping that perhaps ChiChi had been so engrossed in something that she hadn't heard the first time.

When no answer came again she started getting worried. It was about six o'clock in the afternoon. If ChiChi had gone into town to shop, she would have been back by now. Gohan should have been back from school as well.

Her hand went immediately to her purse, where she always made sure to have a capsule kit handy in case of emergency. She opened the case and selected the one she had been looking for and threw it, bending down to pick up the hand gun from the floor once it appeared.

Some might think her paranoid, but if they had seen and lived the things she had they wouldn't have been surprised. She was getting a feeling of wrongness from this whole situation which she just couldn't shake off.

Instincts were something even humans in their advanced evolution hadn't outgrown and hers were going haywire at the moment, telling her to get moving and do something before something bad happened to her friend.

Besides, if she was wrong all she would do was give ChiChi a good scare and have a good laugh at Bulma's hysterical antics.

She palmed the door knob and it surprisingly slid in her grip, telling her that she had been right all along in assuming that ChiChi had to be home. The woman never went ten feet away from the house without locking the front door first.

She bit her bottom lip again and strengthened her grip on the gun. She stepped into the house slowly, glancing everywhere and taking stock of any damages she might come across and any intruders to look out for.

She held back an inappropriate chuckle at how corny her own actions looked to her. She was gliding against the walls, glancing over her shoulder every few seconds with her gun held at the ready for anything to fly at her, like in those old cop movies her mother was so fond of.

_Vegeta would be proud._ The thought came unbidden to her mind as she thought of the stealth she was showing. He usually accused her of having as much grace as an elephant in a china shop, and he wasn't all wrong. She supposed that knowing that this could be crucial to her friend's survival was the only thing keeping her from giving herself away to any uninvited guests.

She had searched the whole bottom floor, except for the kitchen. She had wanted to make sure that no one else was around to ambush her from behind before turning to the most predictable place of where ChiChi could be.

She entered the room swiftly, taking everything in quickly and noticing the boiling pots on the oven and still uncut vegetables on the countertop. She frowned at this, a gnawing feeling growing in the pit of her stomach at this very uncharacteristic fact.

Just then she thought she heard something. It was muffled and nearly undistinguishable, but it was undoubtedly coming from the backyard. She turned her attention to the halfway opened door and walked slowly to it, looking outside through the opening.

What she saw made her blood run cold.

Her eyes widened in disbelief and her body started shaking uncontrollably at the sight. The force of the shock made her stumble backwards, and she fell into an ungraceful heap on the floor; the back of the hand holding the gun came to up to muffle the cry that fought to tear free from her chest, the other one pressed into her stomach as she fought the inexplicable physical pain she felt.

She heard a noise again and she instinctively responded to her 'fight-or-flight' reflex by quickly coming to her feet and racing through the house and out the front door.

Bulma came to rest on a nearby tree, where she supported her weight as she regurgitated what she had had for lunch into the floor until she had nothing more to give.

Pulling her weak body up was no easy task and she made her way back to the car as quickly as she could, angrily wiping at the traitorous tears gliding down her pale cheeks.

_It. Can't. Be… It just…Can't. Be._ Was all that ran through her head as she finally managed to get her key into the ignition and rev the car into gear. Then she slammed down on the gas and tore out of the place like a vat out of hell, leaving a cloud of dust in her wake and with the feeling that nothing would ever be the same again.

For she had indeed found ChiChi.

And her friend **hadn't** been alone.

Vegeta was there with her.

End Chapter 3

Mad River


	4. Sweet Nothings 4

Disclaimer: I don't own it.

Sweet Nothings

Rated R

By: MadRiver

Chapter 4

Bulma collapsed on the bed in a graceless heap, the drive back to her house only a blur to her muddled mind. Of all the things she had expected to see during her rather eventful life, she never thought that particular scene would have been one of them.

_What does this mean?_ Was the one question that kept bouncing around her head as she stared listlessly at the ceiling.

She realized that this shouldn't be all that she should be thinking about. After all, Bulma was known for her short fuse and after what she had witnessed she should have been frothing at the mouth, heavily sedated and tied to a bed at the hospital for mental patients and under maximum security.

Perhaps she had reached such a state of fury that her system had simply overloaded and caved in on itself, so that the walking shell lying on the bed was all that was left of her former passionate self. It was possible. If there was one thing life had taught her was that anything could happen.

Whatever it was, she was happy for it since she didn't know what she would do with herself if she weren't under this state of numb shock.

Had she not seen it with her own two eyes, she would have never believed it.

Vegeta… and ChiChi.

Vegeta and ChiChi… locked in a passionate embrace, **kissing** as if their very lives depended upon it.

She hadn't seen much since she had only gotten a quick glance before what she was actually seeing registered in her mind. However, she **had** seen enough to notice just how intimate an embrace it was.

ChiChi had been sitting on top of a picnic table with her legs wrapped tightly around Vegeta's waist and her hands buried within his hair. Vegeta's hands had been underneath ChiChi's shirt doing only God knew what.

She didn't know how far they might have gotten after she left but she could guess, by what their actions indicated, that they probably hadn't stopped until they had fucked each other senseless.

It was truly a testament to how much she had been shaken that this disturbing thought didn't even make her bat an eyelash.

_What I am going to do now?_ She thought dejectedly. There were so many ways she could go about handling this turn of events that she didn't know where to begin.

She had to admit though that she was rather proud of how well she was reacting to seeing her husband about to go at it with her friend. Numbing shock aside, she was sure she should have reacted by now and was pleasantly surprised to realize that this was probably it.

She had always wondered what would happen if she ever experienced the level of rage Vegeta was capable of and now she thought she knew.

How long had Vegeta been chomping at the bit to get back at Goku? Seething in impotence that now he couldn't do anything to reclaim his 'lost' honor? And then, having to accept that there wasn't anything he could do about it now and calmly having to settle back into his new life with little to no evidence at just how much he wished he could get his hands on her dearest friend?

He had so much rage and hate swirling around in him that he simply didn't react to it unless provoked. And that's just how Bulma felt now. After all, what could she really do about Vegeta's and ChiChi's deceit?

She refused to cry. In fact, she was actively spending all the energy she had left on **not** crying. A lump seemed to have formed in her throat from all the pent up emotion and her heart ached tremendously but she wouldn't let the treacherous tears run their course.

She had cried so much over him already that she was sick of it. She had spent the last few years worrying about if he would be there when she woke up the next morning, or if he had finally gotten fed up and turned tail like he did before Trunks was born.

Bulma remembered that time now and all of the uncertainty and pain that came with it, and vaguely wondered if she would be able to handle it again.

How many nights had she stayed up late, rubbing her swollen tummy while looking up at the stars, wondering if that shooting star or almost unnoticeable movement up in the sky was Vegeta finally coming back to her?

She had suffered so much that she had thought she would lose the baby early in the pregnancy, from the duress her body had been under.

Yet, she had hoped and held that hope against her heart just as tightly as she had held her baby boy, when he was finally placed within the cradle of her arms after an eternity of labor.

Then, when her prince finally returned, she had taken him back, forgiving and forgetting all the hurt and resentment she had felt at his abandonment.

Her friends had been appalled at her decision and had had no qualms on letting her know this. They couldn't understand how, after all he had done, she could still accept him back and she had been quick to let them know that they just didn't understand their relationship or her.

Bulma Briefs was someone ruled by her heart and was not afraid to admit it. She was love's fool, to quote good old Shakespeare, and proud of it.

She had always felt things to the ultimate extent. She loved, she cried, she hated, she yelled and she did it all with every cell in her body, every bit of her soul.

That's why her renegade prince had come back to her, just as she knew he would. He was entranced by the passion she exhibited towards life, the kind of passion he thought was lacking in him.

And now, he had done it again.

Except that this time she didn't know if she would be able to forgive his transgression. What woman in her right mind would, anyway?

After all she had done for him. The sweat and the tears she had put into their so called relationship. The things she had sacrificed just so that she could be with him, bending to his will and being at his beck and call every hour of the day.

Was she supposed to take him back and forgive and forget **this**? Was she supposed to forgive ChiChi while she was at it too?

Bulma sat up quickly on the bed as she was finally hit by the wave of emotions she had been expecting long before now.

The gut wrenching pain flowed through her being like a tsunami, drowning her until she felt that she couldn't breathe and was forced to let go of her restraint and let the defiant tears flow.

Bulma felt like she couldn't get enough air into her lungs.

She struggled for the life giving air and dazedly realized that she was hyperventilating and quickly threw herself off the bed looking for anything she could use as a breathing bag until she could get her breathing under control.

She panicked when her eyes flowed over the bare room and belatedly realized that this room, being the guestroom, wouldn't hold anything that might help her. Of course, panicking didn't help since that only added more anguish to her already distressed body.

She looked around the room helplessly, feeling lightheaded and on the verge of passing out.

"Okay… Bulma girl… just… relax…focus… on… breathing…" She coached herself, remembering she had read somewhere that calming down and breathing with her diaphragm was supposed to slow down her system and get appropriate amount of air into her lungs.

She sunk to the floor, placing one hand on her abdomen and the other on the floor to brace her body and focused only on her breathing, letting the rest of the world fall away as she put all her attention into it.

Some time later, Bulma opened her eyes slightly when she finally felt her breathing returning to normal.

As she lifted her head her gaze immediately moved to the windows where she noticed that night had fallen and stars were shining brightly up in the sky.

Bulma forced her mind to go blank as she focused her attention on the sky, ignoring her ragged breath and seemingly endless tears.

She had really thought that she had nothing left to give, that her eyes had dried out long ago. Yet here she was, being proved wrong for the second time that day.

She didn't sob or let out the scream she felt moving up her gut and to the back of her throat. She didn't try to pull her hair out or start breaking things. She didn't even start pacing the room in agitation as she often did when upset.

No, Bulma simply wouldn't do any of that, not this time.

She merely looked outside with her eyes wide open for what she thought was the first time in her life.

She was still gazing at the night sky from her position on the floor when she was startled by a knock on the door.

Her eyes snapped to the source of the offending noise.

She was definitely not in the mood to pretend everything was peaches and cream and decided to just let them knock until they got the hint all on their own and left her to her misery.

When the knocking stopped, she assumed they had finally given up, so she turned her gaze back to the window and the beautiful scenery outside.

Bulma almost jumped a mile high when she felt something clamp down on her right shoulder.

She whirled around quickly, effectively removing the object and landing softly on her back to stare up at the person intently looking down at her.

Her azure eyes widened in shock as she had not been expecting this particular person to pop up any time soon, least of all now.

"What the hell are **you** doing here?" She hissed hatefully at the woman who she had seen, just a couple of hours ago, kissing her lover.

There was a long awkward silence as both women stared at each other. Bulma almost thought ChiChi wasn't going to answer her when she finally responded.

"I came to talk to you…" ChiChi trailed off uncertainly, her eyes roving over Bulma's prone form curiously.

"We have nothing to talk about." Bulma told her firmly, still debating whether she should scratch ChiChi's eyes out first or go straight to the killing.

If Bulma had doubted she was angry before, she definitely didn't now. Just the sight of the black haired woman was making her see red; had she stood, she would've already punched ChiChi's lights out.

"I want to apologize, for what I said yesterday." ChiChi finished, seemingly oblivious to the murderous look Bulma was giving her.

For some odd reason, Bulma found that statement incredibly funny and couldn't stop the laughter that suddenly burst forth from her lips. She let her head fall back as she leant back on her arms and let it all out, allowing her body to release as much stress as possible through her inappropriate amusement.

She laughed until she could feel tears form in her eyes but was helpless to stop their perfidious trek down her flushed cheeks, testament to the true despair eating away at her insides as she looked upon one of the causes of her pain.

Meanwhile, ChiChi stared worriedly at Bulma while repeating their brief exchange in her mind but failed to find what might have caused such a bout of hilarity in the blue-haired woman.

"Bulma, are you alright?" ChiChi finally asked when a few minutes had passed and the other woman still hadn't stopped laughing.

It took another five minutes of watching this peculiar behavior before it dawned on ChiChi that those weren't tears of happiness Bulma was shedding.

"Bulma, please… what's the matter with you?" ChiChi insisted, hoping to bring the distraught woman back to her senses but the question only seemed to have the opposite effect as Bulma, who had almost managed to get her body to calm down, was racked by another peal of laughter.

"Bulma… please, Bulma… you're scaring me…" ChiChi said, finally kneeling down next to the laughing woman and placing her hand on Bulma's forehead, checking for a fever.

Those words and the hand over her eyes had the desired effect.

Bulma went perfectly still, her body latching onto the fight-or-flight reflex she had let be her guide earlier that day and which had made her flee like a scared rabbit. The only difference was that this time she didn't have any where else to run; she was backed into a corner with no other choice but to fight her way out.

Bulma didn't want to be near the other woman; she could feel pinpricks where ChiChi's skin touched hers and her body was visibly recoiling from the kneeling form next to it.

Without realizing it, her lips had formed into a threatening snarl and if ChiChi didn't move away from her soon she was going to be losing that hand.

"Get. The. Hell. Away. From. Me." Bulma hissed each word with deliberate preciseness, barely holding back the urge to kill that had risen within her.

ChiChi jumped back from Bulma, startled at the violence burning behind the cerulean eyes fixed on her. ChiChi had never seen Bulma like this and she would be lying if she said that she wasn't a little intimidated by the picture Bulma presented.

The two women stared silently at each other for an undetermined amount of time, one out of confusion the other out of anger.

ChiChi was the first to break the silence when an idea came to her.

"Bulma, I'm so sorry… I had no idea…" ChiChi said, looking at Bulma with eyes full of understanding which only earned her a disdainful snort from the blue haired genius.

"No, really. I mean… I had no idea that what I said to you had made you this angry." ChiChi continued, not noticing the disbelief that was slowly creeping into Bulma's face.

Bulma couldn't believe the things coming out of the woman's mouth. She couldn't comprehend how ChiChi could sit there, only hours after participating in an illicit affair with her lover, and act like she gave a rat's ass about her current emotional state.

She had to hand it to her though, the woman had balls.

"You know what? I'm going to go call Gohan and tell him to come over and bring Goten with him." ChiChi smiled at Bulma as she got up from the floor and straightened up to her full height, brushing off nonexistent specks of dust from her skirt.

"What?" Bulma let out weakly. What was she talking about now?

"Well, I can't very well leave you here all alone after the pain I've caused you." ChiChi said as if her intentions should have been clear to Bulma.

"What?" Bulma just couldn't seem to wrap her mind around what the woman standing in front of her was suggesting.

"I'm going to stay here with you until I've made you feel better. Honestly Bulma! You would be worried too if you could look at yourself right now!" With that, ChiChi was out of the room and running down the stairs, determined to contact Gohan and put her plan into action.

Bulma was stumped. Had ChiChi just proposed what she thought she had? Was she really planning to stay in Bulma's house until she 'felt better'?

_Over my dead body!_ Bulma sprung into action and ran after the dark haired hussy.

Bulma found her in the kitchen, speaking quickly into the receiver giving precise orders to Gohan on what to bring for her and the things she would need for Goten.

_This is not happening_. Thought Bulma helplessly as she saw the other woman return the phone to its cradle and then move over to the refrigerator.

Bulma couldn't explain the paralysis she was currently under. She wanted to scream and yell at the woman to get the hell out of her kitchen and her house. The words kept forming in her head but they refused to be vocalized. Now she could only stand back and watch as the dark haired woman made herself at home and prepared to make dinner.

At last, ChiChi paused from washing the vegetables she was going to use in the beef stew she wanted to make and turned to the stunned beauty standing just outside the kitchen's threshold.

"Don't look at me like that, Bulma." ChiChi chastised her jokingly, chuckling good-naturedly at the expression on Bulma's face.

Bulma looked like she had just heard Vegeta profess his undying love for her Goku. ChiChi laughed candidly at the mental image and then turned back to her vegetables.

"You are obviously in no condition to take care of Trunks, let alone Vegeta. So, why don't you go upstairs, draw yourself a bath and soak for a little while? Take a load off." ChiChi offered, fully expecting Bulma to accept and leave her to what she did best.

There were so many things wrong with that statement that Bulma simply didn't know which part to be angry with first.

Bulma let out a frustrated shriek at the injustice of it all. She wanted to cry, laugh, and scream, all at the same time. She felt like the whole world had finally gone mad. How couldn't ChiChi see that she didn't want her there? That her mere presence was driving her up the wall?

For her part, ChiChi had turned to glare at Bulma for scaring her half to death with that inhuman screech. ChiChi was really getting worried now and she looked around for what might have caused Bulma to yell in such a way. Not finding anything out of the ordinary, her gaze settled back on Bulma who looked like she was about to jump her at any moment.

Just as ChiChi was about to ask Bulma what her problem was, the door that led to the backyard opened and Trunks rushed in looking disheveled.

"Hey mom!" He greeted brightly with youthful exuberance as he made his way to the fridge to get a bottle of water. When he had fetched his water was when he finally noticed ChiChi standing by the sink. "Oh, hi Miss ChiChi! I didn't know you were here. Where's Goten?" He said all this in practically the same breath, and then gulped down the cold liquid.

"He's on his way. Say, Trunks… could you do me a favor?" ChiChi asked kindly to the little boy.

"Sure!" He answered happily, with the level of energy six year olds always seemed to be full of.

"Why don't you take your mother upstairs and make her lie down for a while?" ChiChi looked pointedly in his mother's direction.

Trunks took in his mother as if seeing her for the first time. She looked awful. Bulma always prided herself in her appearance so the woman glaring hatefully at ChiChi totally surprised him. Bulma's hair was sticking up in all directions, doing a decent imitation of Goten's and her clothes were wrinkled. Her face was pale and her eyes were opened wide with a glazed look to them.

He nodded numbly at ChiChi and walked to a stop in front of his mother.

Bulma had been listening quietly to the whole scene, growing more enraged with each second. It was truly a miracle that she still hadn't flown at ChiChi but she could tell it was only a matter of time. She was at the end of her tether and seeing ChiChi speaking to Trunks in such a motherly way was not helping matters any.

She had been about to go through with what her brain was begging her to do when Trunks came to stand in front of her. He grabbed her hand and silently but firmly led her through the house, up the stairs and into her room. Once there, he mutely pulled back the bed covers and guided her until she was lying propped up against some pillows with the lights on low and the master remote control in her hand.

"Try to get some sleep mom; you look like you really need it." Trunks gazed softly at her and gently caressed her cheeks with his small hands then he leaned forward and gave her a peck on the cheek.

After giving her another loving look he left the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

Bulma watched him go with tears in her eyes. It seemed she had done something right after all. She had reared a very caring little boy who, with his simplicity, had given her the peace of mind she had been craving for during the whole hellish day.

With this new found peace also came the exhaustion from the roller coaster of emotions she had been riding since the previous day.

She felt her eyelids droop and with a sigh gave up the fight against the Sandman, letting the world fall away as she fell into a dreamless sleep, completely forgetting about Vegeta and ChiChi and the nagging feeling that the bed was too comfortable to be the one in the guestroom.

End Chapter 4

MadRiver


	5. Sweet Nothings 5

Disclaimer: I don't own it.

I made some changes to the other chapters. This is no longer a story being told in retrospect.

Adult situations ahead.

Sweet Nothings

Rated R

Chapter 5

Smirking devilishly, Vegeta moved to the console and turned off the Gravity machine. Today had been a good day for him. It hadn't started out that way, given the events of the day before, but by late afternoon he had to admit things had undoubtedly started looking up. He'd always known that causing a little mayhem went a long way into curing whatever ailed him.

He grabbed a towel on his way out and wiped off the sweat beading his brow. He hadn't felt like this in a very long time. It was like he was at peace with the world and everything was going his way for once.

The sight that greeted him when he entered the kitchen had him chuckling to himself. ChiChi was working laboriously on what he could only describe as a feast fit for a king. There was food on every surface of the kitchen; on the counters, on top of the refrigerator… it was everywhere.

His stomach growled in appreciation of the delicious smells permeating the air. The sound drew the slaving woman's attention to him. She gave him a smirk worthy of a Saiyan then turned back to her stewing pots.

"Where is she?" He asked after he'd moved nearer to the busy woman.

"I had Trunks take her to her room to rest for a bit." ChiChi answered distractedly.

"Why? Was she in need of it?" He hated the note of concern that crept into his voice but was pacified by the knowledge that the woman in front of him wouldn't be able to interpret the small nuance in his voice that gave him away. There was only one creature in the whole of the universe that possessed the ability to read him like an open book, and this one wasn't it.

"Why, yes! My goodness Vegeta, you should have seen her! Her hair was mussed, her make-up smeared and… and… It was wonderful!" She whirled around with her hands clasped to her chest and gave a gleeful shriek.

"You should have seen her!" She exclaimed again, her eyes shining brightly with undisguised mirth. She proceeded to do a little jig in celebration then went back to her cooking giving her back to the sneering male.

"I take it you are enjoying yourself?" he asked thoroughly amused at her antics.

"I sure am. It was high time Bulma got what she deserved." ChiChi said, her tone changing from merry to serious. She gave him a curious look over her shoulder before asking: "Are you in the mood for more?"

He gave her a cursory glance before turning his back on her and making his way towards the stairs. He had other things to take care of before resuming his lessons. He was in dire need of a shower and some serious meditating time.

He passed by the room the woman had decided to make her own after their spat the previous day and frowned when he felt nothing from within. He stopped at the door, sharpening his senses to seek out her energy. He was taken by surprise when his search led back to 'their' room.

Vegeta frowned momentarily, wondering what she could possibly be doing in there after she had made it so clear that she wouldn't be stepping into that particular room until he did something about the current status of their relationship. Then he smirked when he realized that her energy was in repose.

Things just kept getting better and better.

* * *

Bulma groaned as her eyes opened and her trembling hand came up to rest on her forehead. She had a pounding headache and her body ached horribly. She felt like she'd been run over by a train.

She shakily removed the comforters from her body and came to stand on trembling legs next to the bed. She ambled over in the direction of the bathroom, her eyes barely open and her addled brain stuck on one thought: aspirin.

As Bulma entered the foggy bathroom, she idly registered the sound of the shower and the muggy feeling of steam. She headed straight for the medicine cabinet and briefly grappled to open the aspirin bottle. She let out a victorious sound when the little white cap finally gave way. She wasted no time in opening the knob for the cold water and cupping enough to help her swallow the two little pills.

She nearly jumped out of her skin at the feel of a hand circling the back of her neck. She looked up at the mirror in front of her and locked eyes with the scowling figure standing behind her.

Before she could gather her bearings she felt herself being whirled around and shoved forcefully into a wall. Her breath hitched at the impact and white spots exploded behind her eyes.

"And… how **is** my mate today?" he whispered sweetly against her ear. She shivered reflexively and was quick to note how he pushed his beautifully sculpted body against hers in a way that indicated everything that was sinfully erotic about the man.

She gasped as his tongue licked a delicious trail from the base of her neck to her earlobe, which he deliberately sucked into his mouth then flicked playfully with his tongue.

Her aching head rebelled at all of the spiraling sensations evoked by Vegeta, until only one grating need took precedence over everything else. She pushed hard against his chest and ran to the nearby toilet where her empty stomach searched for anything to bring up.

Vegeta scowled at the apprehension that rose up at her pitiful display. He wasn't supposed to show mercy to the enemy, after all, this was only one of the many battles he would fight in this war and it would not do for him to be faltering so early in the game.

He only needed the reminder of his conclusions from the night before to have the heat of his fury resurface and lend steel to his resolve so that in place of running to her and offering his assistance in any way he couldwhich was what he initially wanted to dohe sauntered over to her huddled form and weaved his fingers through the fine strands of her hair.

He yanked unfeelingly on his prize, making her moan in agony as she followed the pull of his hand until she was standing facing him, her neck and head stretching back to alleviate the ache he was causing her.

"What the fuck is the matter with you Vegeta!" She shrieked, gazing hatefully into his guarded eyes.

Vegeta smirked in that way that never failed to turn her legs to jelly but that right now made her snarl at its condescension.

He opted not to answer her. Instead, he pulled her along with him as he left the bathroom and crossed over to the bedroom. She struggled futilely in an attempt to loosen his grip but all that achieved was for him to tighten his hold in warning. He headed directly for the rumpled bed and propelled her onto it, chuckling at her annoyed spluttering.

Bulma couldn't believe the way he was treating her. Of course, rough play wasn't uncommon in their bedroom but he had never showed such complete disregard for her pain as he was now and she would be lying if she said she wasn't a little scared.

She flipped over to lie on her back and stared up at him. Vegeta was studying her carefully, as if trying to decide what to do with her next. He wore nothing but a towel around his waist and she quivered at the thought of what she knew would be his final decision.

Vegeta briefly considered leaving her alone. She had bags under her eyes and her bedraggled appearance left much to be desired. He had rarely seen her look this awful and the few times he had it was during times of great distress for her loved ones and Earth.

Just as he was thinking of a parting jibe, her words from the night before floated around in his mind. He knew he wouldn't accomplish anything by backing down now. Besides, he had already set everything in motion so it wouldn't do to cut her a break now simply because she looked incredibly pathetic.

'_And in any case, this will probably help in livening her up a little bit'_ he thought, horribly amused by what he was about to do.

She noticed a dangerous glint ignite in his dark eyes and her gaze hardened in determination. She made as if to push herself off of the bed but she hadn't so much as finished having the thought and he was already laying a commanding hand on the valley between her breasts as his legs straddled her.

He sneered knowingly at her as one of the fingers of the hand pressing her down moved to hook on the neck of her silk blouse and jerked downward. She resumed her struggling, beating against his chest and cursing him for his audacity. He laughed quietly at her antics.

The thought of him touching her now, after she had seen him in such a compromising position with ChiChi, lent strength to her struggles and made it difficult for him to progress with his plans. In order to stop her, he had to shift and catch her arms between their bodies by wrapping his around her back and pushing her flush against his body.

"Vegeta! Let go of me!" She yelled at his impassive face. "I'm not doing this right now!"

"You say that as if you have a choice." He murmured distractedly as his gaze focused on her forbidding lips.

She opened her mouth to scream some sense into him and he took the opportunity to sweep down and crush his lips against hers, effectively silencing her. Just as swiftly, his tongue delved into her mouth, trying to force the struggling woman into compliance.

She tried beating and pushing against his chest with her captured hands but she already knew that was useless since he was much stronger than she could ever hope to be. She bit down on his retreating tongue, causing him to growl menacingly and squeeze her until she gasped for air.

Vegeta nudged her head aside, dropping kisses along her cheek, jaw and down to the base of her neck. He continued his soft exploration of her skin, inhaling her sweet scent and hating the fact that it had to be this way.

He trailed his mouth down to her right breast, immediately catching the hardening nipple between his teeth. She moaned detesting that even though she was angrier with him than she had ever been before, he could still make her hum like a well-oiled machine.

He sucked and licked the breast through her bra, the rough texture and soft friction coercing a response from her. He switched his attentions to the other one, indulging it to the same treatment.

"Bulma…" he breathed against the side of her breast, tenderly grazing the sensitive skin with his teeth. She arched her back reflexively, wordlessly begging for more.

"Do you want me?" It was more a statement than a question, his nose already telling him what he needed to know, but he wanted to hear the words hiss out of her viperous tongue.

The throaty tone in his voice was enough to set her skin on fire but she still had enough sense to emphatically deny his claim by letting out a strangled "No!" while her hips contradicted her in lifting in silent invitation, entreating the hardness brushing against her stomach.

"You're a rotten liar" he husked, finally moving his soft lips down the smooth planes of her ribcage, licking and sucking at the lightly flushed skin and stopping to scrape his teeth on that oh so sensitive spot by her pubic bone through her skirt. His body shifted until he lay beside her, his hands moving to rest on the bed along either side of her hips.

Vegeta stopped his advance to draw in the intoxicating scent of her arousal. His hands came forward to caress up her trembling thighs and down her skirt, dragging the material as they went until it bunched around her waist, and then gently compelled her to widen her legs for him. He moved to rest between them and pressed his nose against the source of her excitement.

Bulma groaned in response, closing her eyes to the sensation while recoiling at the knowledge that he had probably done this to ChiChi not too long ago. The back of her hand came to rest against her lips, attempting to hide the sobs that she could feel forming in the back of her throat while silent tears leaked from her eyes.

Vegeta tuned out her obvious misery and instead concentrated on the task at hand. His tongue darted out to lick a trail from her opening to the nub crying for his attention, causing her to lift her hips suddenly and throw her head back in rapture.

"Do you want me?" he asked again, emphasizing his question by clamping his teeth down on her clitoris and smirking as she again gritted out her denial through clenched teeth.

Bulma was beyond reasoning. Her mind rebelled against Vegeta's actions but her body had already submitted to his onslaught, willingly responding to his caresses and wantonly hoping that he'd do more.

"Vegeta!" She moaned as his nose nudge the side of her underwear and his questing tongue finally came into direct contact with her heated core.

Bulma squirmed as he licked and sucked, spearing her with his tongue and bringing her closer and closer to completion.

"Do you want me?" he persisted, his mind foggy from the heady feeling of having her body begging for him to take her. He instinctively ground his erection into the bed in hopes of alleviating the need that was slowly overtaking his senses.

"Yes!" She finally screamed her acquiescence, struggling to breathe as her body gained a mind of its own and rocked against his face while her hands desperately grasped the back of his head and pressed him more firmly to her center.

Suddenly, Vegeta hoisted himself over her and leered down at her "That's all I wanted to hear!" and quickly moved off of her.

Bulma lay on the bed gasping, trying to grasp the meaning of his words. It was only when she heard the telltale sound of a zipper being closed that she realized that the bastard had just left her panting after him like a bitch in heat, still unfulfilled.

Her eyes stared incredulously at his retreating back. She nearly flew across the room at him when she heard him mumble: "You better hurry, or else you won't get any of ChiChi's delectable feast."

Vegeta's laughter as he shut the door behind himself grated on her last nerve. She sat up and grabbed a pillow to scream her frustration into it at the unfairness of it all. Of all the evil things he could have done to her, this was probably the worst one.

Her skin crawled at the thought that she had just let him touch her in such a way, practically begged him to fuck her in spite of everything she had seen and gone through that day. It was enough to lift any fog from her mind and bring her crushing down to reality.

She hurriedly got off the bed, stripping the damaged blouse and the rest of her clothing as she all but ran to the shower where she turned the hot water into nearly scalding temperatures and rubbed at her skin as if the action would get rid of the feeling of his hands and mouth against her skin.

That she had reacted to him in such a way wasn't a shock to her since the man had learnt how to play her like an instrument during all of the years he had spent perfecting that particular melody. It was the fact that he had played that card that left her breathless and cowering under the spray of the showerhead.

It was beyond disgusting that he would do such a thing to her, even after he had spent his afternoon screwing her best friend's wife, a person who she had regarded as one of her closest friends. That he had the gall to make her writhe for him and then leave her in that state was beyond cruel and ultimately also let her know what he had thought about her ultimatum.

If the sight of Vegeta and ChiChi about to get it on hadn't driven the point home, this latest stunt left her with no doubts whatsoever.

Vegeta wasn't going to marry her, ever.

And now, as if that wasn't enough, he'd decided to up the stakes and mess with her head. To make matters worse, she had to face the music and go confront the two-timers calmly getting ready to eat at her table.

Bulma despondently turned off the water and got out of the shower. She hated feeling sorry for herself but there were things that were hard to overcome. She had had to deal with a cheating boyfriend from a very early age and she hadn't thought that someday she would have to put up with the same bullshit from the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.

It was very discouraging to say the least.

She wrapped a towel around her body and made her way to her closet. She rifled through her extensive selection and decided on standard black pants and white shirt. She felt like she was getting ready to face the stuffy shareholders at CC.

Bulma pulled back her hair into a simple chignon and liberally made up her face to cover up any of her leftover misery.

Game face on, she straightened up her spine and headed towards what awaited her beyond the bedroom door.

* * *

Vegeta entered the dining room to a humming ChiChi. She had been gleefully setting up the table and hadn't notice his scrutiny until she nearly ran into him when she whirled around to go back to the kitchen.

"Vegeta!" She shrieked in surprise.

"I think you should go." Vegeta muttered and turned to go but a hesitant hand on his arm stopped his retreat. He looked down at the offending appendage and then at the female's eyes. She mumbled an apology and immediately removed her hand from his person.

"Why?" ChiChi wondered after she was sure that he wasn't about to snap at her hand like a rabid dog.

"For your health." He said simply and once again made as if to leave but was stopped by the confusion he heard in the woman's voice.

"For my health?" She asked.

"If you are still here when she comes down, I fear that not even I will be able to save you." Vegeta looked at her over his shoulder, the amusement in his eyes and voice begging her to understand.

ChiChi's eyes widened in realization and she wasn't able to stop the giggle that bubbled forth from her lips at what he was insinuating.

"Are you sure?" She had to ask. She really didn't want to miss the show she could feel brewing but if he thought that her presence would be detrimental than she would more than gladly leave.

"Yes." He said with finality and hurried out of the room so that she couldn't stop him with any more of her silly questions.

End Chapter 5

MadRiver


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